What are Counseling Master's Programs Looking for?

[leahyhl]

Hello all,

I know a lot of you are in or have completed Master's in Counseling degrees. My eventual goal is to earn a PhD in Counseling, and I am coming to the realization that most Counseling PhD programs formally (or informally) require a Master's degree for admission.

What do Master's in Counseling admissions committees look for in an applicant? What is the difference between what a Master's program looks for and what a PhD program looks for. I assume that research experience is weighed less heavily, and field experience is weighed more heavily... Anything else?

Thank you to all who respond!

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[Rapunzel]

Counseling PhD programs seem more likely to require a master's first, but not all of them do. Some allow you to finish a year sooner if you start with a master's.

Master's programs are much easier to get into than PhD programs. Mine had a four week seminar that anyone could enroll in who was interested in the program and met minimal requirements (bachelor's degree in a related field, pretty much. In the seminar we did some APA writing assignments, some presentations, and learned some basic counseling skills. We were evaluated on our performance at those assignments, and most people who made it that far were accepted. My program doesn't care about research skills in the slightest (unfortunately). Field experience was a major plus. Other schools have different processes though.

 

[leahyhl]

Thanks for the info. If you don't mind me asking, where do you go to school? What Counseling PhD programs do you have in mind that don't (even informally) require Master's degrees?

 

[Rapunzel]

I'm going to University of Phoenix now. Their process is probably much the same at their other campuses too. It's expensive, but I went with it because it allowed me to work while I was in school, and I figured that I wouldn't be any worse off then if I were going to a school that didn't permit or allow enough time for outside work. I have debt from this master's program, but might have had to get loans for living expenses if I were going to a funded program. Besides, it was the only graduate program accessible to me when I started, so I'm not really behind where I would be time-wise either.

None of the counseling psych programs in Utah require a master's degree before you start, but a couple will give some credit for previous graduate work. Some clinical programs actually consider a previous master's degree a disadvantage, as they want to do the clinical training themselves.

 

[Rapunzel]

I was also going to say that, having a master's degree, I might be able to work using my own license during part of doctoral studies (but not have to pay back student loans while enrolled in school), or even teach at a community college or be more valued as an instructor at the university I enroll in. So, I hope that it will start to pay off in the not too distant future.

 

[leahyhl]

Thank you so much!